San Francisco- For $126 million, you expect more . That is an understatement. Zito's demise show how fragile the confidence is for baseball players. Slumps are a part of baseball. With Zito, i am surprised that he hasn't had the ability to pull himself out of this funk. Something integral to being a successful baseball player is having a rock solid routine. This routine keeps in line your physical efforts as well as your mental efforts. Do you remember how anal Wade Boggs was with his routine? Far too often, players don't put any training into the mental side and then when struggle it all falls apart. I don't know what Barry Zito's problem is, but I do see a ton of pretty distrubing symptoms for such a highly paid player.
- He is pitching behind.
- He isn't finishing his breaking pitches...so they hang. ("You hang it, they bang it.)
- His team is getting that "here we go again" look so their defense has sucked.
- His focus is lost.
Let's hope that Barry's move to the bullpen gets him focus, confidence in his mechanics and some perspective so he can earn his keep.
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